Democrat Anthony Brown's campaign brought out some big political names to attack a proposal that Republican Larry Hogan claims isn't true. Hogan contends he has never considered cutting millions in school construction funds.

The Brown campaign is pouncing on a Baltimore Sun analysis of Hogan's tally of wasteful spending. The analysis cites an audit that determined $450 million in school construction projects wasn't properly tracked. The issue was quickly resolved, and Hogan contends he has never called for such a cut in the first place.

One of Hogan's top campaign pledges has been to find about $1.7 billion in savings by cutting waste and fraud in state government. He would use state and federal audits as his blueprint to find where to cut.

One of the records included in Hogan's audit collection found that the state didn't properly track $450 million worth of school construction, but the issue was quickly resolved.

Brown seized on the notion that -- even though there was no suggestion that the $450 million was misspent -- the Hogan campaign counted it as waste.

"I don't know what he's talking about. We will have to take a look at that. I've never talked about cutting that," Hogan said.

The Hogan campaign acknowledged there may be some calculation errors but the issue of fraud and waste in government remains a problem.

That answer didn't satisfy the president of the state's largest teachers union.

"Hogan said that he absolutely stands by these numbers. Therefore, what he is standing by is a $450 million cut in school construction funding," said Betty Weller, the president of the Maryland State Education Association.

House Speaker Michael Busch led a news conference Thursday to debunk the idea that there was ever any fraud to begin with and to admonish the Hogan campaign for even considering looking at cuts in school construction funding.

"That reflects, in my estimation, where they are looking to make cuts in government, and if they are looking to make cuts in school construction funding, that is the wrong way to go," Busch said.

Busch said if Hogan means what he says, then Anne Arundel County would lose $45 million in school construction money.

But the Hogan campaign refuted the claim, calling it another Brown whopper and that Brown will say and do anything to get elected. Hogan charges that Brown is pulling numbers out of thin air and attaching his name to them.

"I've never talked about cutting that," Hogan said.

Busch maintains that if it's really a case of bad math, the lack of research on Hogan's part should be a red flag. He also said Hogan's plan suggests that he doesn't view school construction as a priority.